Baillie Gifford & Co. Takes $1.65 Million Position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM)

Baillie Gifford & Co. bought a new position in Philip Morris International Inc. (NYSE:PM - Free Report) in the third quarter, according to its most recent filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The fund bought 13,612 shares of the company's stock, valued at approximately $1,652,000.

Several other hedge funds have also modified their holdings of PM. GQG Partners LLC raised its stake in Philip Morris International by 5,006.0% in the 1st quarter. GQG Partners LLC now owns 5,958,391 shares of the company's stock worth $545,908,000 after acquiring an additional 5,841,696 shares during the last quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA raised its stake in shares of Philip Morris International by 79.3% in the second quarter. Massachusetts Financial Services Co. MA now owns 5,878,158 shares of the company's stock worth $595,634,000 after purchasing an additional 2,599,684 shares during the last quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp lifted its holdings in shares of Philip Morris International by 16.3% during the second quarter. Bank of New York Mellon Corp now owns 13,234,478 shares of the company's stock worth $1,341,050,000 after purchasing an additional 1,856,551 shares during the period. Capital Research Global Investors boosted its position in Philip Morris International by 3.1% in the first quarter. Capital Research Global Investors now owns 60,217,039 shares of the company's stock valued at $5,517,085,000 after buying an additional 1,800,864 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Capital World Investors raised its position in Philip Morris International by 1.5% during the 1st quarter. Capital World Investors now owns 111,247,656 shares of the company's stock worth $10,192,510,000 after buying an additional 1,684,992 shares during the last quarter. 78.63% of the stock is owned by hedge funds and other institutional investors.

Philip Morris International Price Performance

PM stock traded up $2.37 during trading on Thursday, hitting $127.61. The stock had a trading volume of 2,698,799 shares, compared to its average volume of 5,380,149. The company's 50-day moving average price is $124.19 and its two-hundred day moving average price is $113.11. Philip Morris International Inc. has a twelve month low of $87.82 and a twelve month high of $134.15. The stock has a market capitalization of $198.41 billion, a P/E ratio of 19.88, a PEG ratio of 2.17 and a beta of 0.54.

Philip Morris International (NYSE:PM - Get Free Report) last released its earnings results on Tuesday, October 22nd. The company reported $1.91 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, topping analysts' consensus estimates of $1.82 by $0.09. The business had revenue of $9.91 billion during the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $9.68 billion. Philip Morris International had a net margin of 10.35% and a negative return on equity of 117.94%. The company's revenue for the quarter was up 8.4% compared to the same quarter last year. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm earned $1.67 earnings per share. As a group, sell-side analysts expect that Philip Morris International Inc. will post 6.51 EPS for the current fiscal year.

Philip Morris International Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Thursday, October 10th. Stockholders of record on Thursday, September 26th were paid a $1.35 dividend. This represents a $5.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a dividend yield of 4.23%. This is an increase from Philip Morris International's previous quarterly dividend of $1.30. The ex-dividend date of this dividend was Thursday, September 26th. Philip Morris International's payout ratio is 85.71%.

Insider Transactions at Philip Morris International

In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of the business's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The stock was sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the completion of the transaction, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares of the company's stock, valued at $124,624,965.85. The trade was a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The transaction was disclosed in a document filed with the SEC, which is available through this hyperlink. In related news, Chairman Andre Calantzopoulos sold 101,918 shares of Philip Morris International stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.85, for a total transaction of $13,234,052.30. Following the sale, the chairman now directly owns 959,761 shares in the company, valued at $124,624,965.85. This trade represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is available through the SEC website. Also, insider Werner Barth sold 7,500 shares of the company's stock in a transaction on Wednesday, October 23rd. The shares were sold at an average price of $129.98, for a total transaction of $974,850.00. Following the completion of the transaction, the insider now owns 95,418 shares of the company's stock, valued at $12,402,431.64. This represents a 0.00 % decrease in their position. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Company insiders own 0.13% of the company's stock.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

A number of analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. UBS Group increased their price objective on shares of Philip Morris International from $103.00 to $105.00 and gave the stock a "sell" rating in a research note on Wednesday, October 23rd. The Goldman Sachs Group boosted their price objective on Philip Morris International from $126.00 to $140.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Thursday, September 26th. Bank of America raised their target price on Philip Morris International from $125.00 to $139.00 and gave the stock a "buy" rating in a report on Wednesday, September 4th. Citigroup boosted their price target on Philip Morris International from $118.50 to $132.00 and gave the company a "buy" rating in a report on Tuesday, October 8th. Finally, Stifel Nicolaus reaffirmed a "buy" rating and set a $145.00 target price (up from $138.00) on shares of Philip Morris International in a report on Wednesday, October 23rd. One equities research analyst has rated the stock with a sell rating, three have given a hold rating and eight have issued a buy rating to the stock. According to MarketBeat, the stock has an average rating of "Moderate Buy" and an average price target of $127.85.

About Philip Morris International

Philip Morris International Inc operates as a tobacco company working to delivers a smoke-free future and evolving portfolio for the long-term to include products outside of the tobacco and nicotine sector. The company's product portfolio primarily consists of cigarettes and smoke-free products, including heat-not-burn, vapor, and oral nicotine products primarily under the IQOS and ZYN brands; and consumer accessories, such as lighters and matches.